Blueberries

We took the kids blueberry/blackberry/peach picking last week. It's an activity we all enjoy a lot. It gives the kids a chance to stuff themselves with as many blueberries as they can eat while we attempt to fill a bucket or two. (Reminded me of the mother bear in Blueberries For Sal saying, "eat all you can" and Sal's mother saying she is trying to gather hers to take home for canning, not for eating at that moment.) We like that the kid experience that our food requires work and comes from a farm. It makes the food taste all the better.

5lbs of peaches, 3lbs of blueberries and 2lbs of blackberries. not a bad haul for an hour. 

To go hand-in-hand with the picking, Rebecca read Blueberries for Sal to the boys as part of the Before Five In A Row curriculum. They loved the book and begged for it at every meal. 



They loved putting the berries in the bucket to hear them go "Kerplink, Kerplank, Kerplunk!"




We use the books to talk about many different subjects, counting, trees, animal classification, working in the kitchen, seasons, colors.



Happenings

Some of the books we have been reading either with FIAR or FIAR style. They have included fun action rhymes, little teaching moments, and lots of talk about nature/animals.

Counting practice. The kids like these counting and sorting games. We also do colored cups with different colored objects.

making lemonade out of lemons

they like to play a game they call "jump" (just as you would think, it involves jumping on the couch cushions and other pillows), other make believe games, book reading nooks, and this is often when I hear them play acting out the things we have learned. yes, my boys like to run around without clothing...is that a problem? i mean it makes for less laundry right? :)

Gabe School and Lego Fun

Rowing (as they call it in FIAR language) The Big Green Pocketbook. I made these green bags from paper and we went on some errands and collected our morning.

Mixing Colors: blue and yellow make green

Rowing Caps for Sale: Gabe is balancing the caps on his head. Both of these books have been favorites of the kids. They love reading them over and over.

more letters

following directions

We were reading the stories of David, as a shepherd, a musician, a hero, and a king.

This was a playdate we went to at Bricks (a lego play place). There was a zip line for the lego creations which was a big hit with the kids.

Happenings

Ask Mr. Bear puppet show

Ask Mr. Bear activities, This was our Before Five in a Row book last week. It was a favorite. We discussed birthdays (always a popular subject), thinking and solving problems, memory work with sequencing and retelling the story, animal sounds (mostly for Ezra), and farms versus woodland habitats.

The kids really enjoy making up games together now. Often Olivia can be a bit bossy and Gabe has a tendency to be disagreeable but overall they have a good time and really enjoy being together. ;)

art projects

Book Fun

We spent the week reading "Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear" multiple times. The boys loved the rhyming text and asked for the book over and over. We used some of the ideas in Before Five in a Row (FIAR) curriculum to explore the book a bit more. And thanks to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations and her creative printables, we did some additional preschool work related to the book. Our activities included discussion of love and family, greetings, playing peek a boo (which Ezra got in on), our American flag, the stars, moon, and sun, and practice with early writing skills, colors, matching, patterns, colors same and different. Gabe's favorite thing was to dress the Bear "paper doll" I made for him. He was made from a brown paper bag and I cut the shirts and shorts out of some scrap fabric. Gabe insisted that his cloths match each time he dressed him. Olivia wanted in on the fun too. The book made them all laugh and laugh. I encouraged Olivia to make up more verses to go with the rhyme (for example, what Jesse Bear might wear if it was snowing or raining) and she really enjoyed that. She also noted and explained to the boys several times that Jesse Bear had bad table manners and that they shouldn't act that way at the table. Thank you, big sister! ;)